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Tuesday, September 06, 2011

I arrived hot and bothered and without anywhere to stay but once I'd found a hostel (after a few 'no room at the inn' moments) a walk to see the colloseum and the city before it got dark seemed like a nice calming antidote to the journey. I hadn't thought a lot about what Rome would be like before arriving but on that walk I found myself thinking 'of course' as mopeds zipped in and out of traffic, horns beeped and the shirts and suits of dapper drivers on their vespas flapped in the wind. All of this with the huge body of the colloseum ahead of me and the moon just coming out above it. It all felt a bit like one of those adverts that play on tv in the depths of winter, commissioned by tourist offices, it was exactly what you'd expect of Rome; loud, hot, busy and wonderful and I felt like Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck might as well have riden past in CGI just to complete the illusion.

I did lots of walking around and reading. I visited the Orto Botanico and climbed up to the top of the hill with it's view over Rome and the multiple Basilicas sticking up and out in the sea of red roofs and I bought a huge, fuzzy peach at Campo Dei Fiori. My favourite moment was probably when I was walking back to the hostel one evening through the maze of alleys in the centre and turned a corner to be completely unexpectedly greeted by the sight of Fontana di Trevi, the gushing sound of cascading water and the swarms of people crowding around it. Italy was constantly crowded (of course, it was the Summer) but standing in front of that huge white fountain, with marble men and horses wrestling in the water while surrounded by a huge crowd of people equally excited to see such an infamous landmark was a really nice feeling. Seeing such a famous sight emerging out of nowhere felt very true of Rome and Italy in general, you could be in what felt like a completely 'ordinary' street and some building, or sculpture, or in this case fountain would pop out of nowhere, extraordinarily decadent and beautiful. It's the sort of decadence that doesn't exist anymore but most of the awe comes from the age of the buildings and relics themselves because you wonder how on earth you can be looking at something that was built in the Roman period.

I think I came across Trevi in very much the same way, just sort of stumbled on it and recognized it from "La Dolce Vita", not even sure if I knew what it was called at the time! I loved Rome, the colors and the stone and the ooooh that pizza that you buy by weight.

I can't stop staring at the second picture.. There's no such city as Rome, so full of life and love and beautiful places! Just a detail: it's "Colosseum", or Colosseo as we italians call it, and "basilica" ;)

Ever read something on this blog that touched you, made you guffaw, or that you passed onto a friend because you thought they might like it? If so, would you like to buy me a coffee to enjoy whilst I write?